Ohio rape case stirs sadness for all involved

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Jennifer Agresta reached out to Ma’lik Richmond after he and codefendant Trent Mays were convicted Sunday of rape in a juvenile court in Steubenville, Ohio. Agresta was once Richmond’s guardian.

March 22, 2013

I commend the restraint in reporting on the Steubenville, Ohio, rape case, which refrained from vilifying the young rapists or blaming the victim (“2 Ohio high school football players convicted of rape,” Page A2, March 18). The problem of rape is bigger than these two young men. They have to be punished, to be sure. But society should not make them scapegoats for the larger problem.

I fully support the young woman who came forward. But in this instance, I am also compelled to feel compassion for all involved. I, for one, refuse to sit in judgment this far away from the facts. I believe that there are larger societal problems that caused or allowed this thing to happen.

I find myself saddened by the fact that all of the people involved will be forever traumatized by these events. Justice according to the law has been done. Of that I am glad. But I take no joy in the media feeding frenzy. Nor do I find myself capable of believing that these two young men — still boys really — cannot be redeemed following their punishment. To deny them the opportunity of redemption would perpetuate the cycle of violence and accomplish nothing.